Hagrid, Dumbledore, & Second Chances (WAS Hagrid the Betrayer)

[naamagatus]

No: HPFGUIDX 40176

Caroline:

You [Cindy] summed up my problems with Hagrid in one wonderful 
sentence:
 << I'm asked to believe that Dumbledore thinks Hagrid's weaknesses 
 are to be tolerated.>>

Yes. You see, this actually sums up my problems with Dumbledore as 
well. Second chances are all very good, imho, but when you give 
them, don't you expect some repentance in return? Shouldn't
the forgiven one make a good faith effort to turn away from whatever 
he 
(and so far it's always a he in the Potterverse) did to screw
things up so royally in the first place?

<snip to the following>

That's what I worry about. What is she *doing* with Hagrid? What 
message is JKR trying to send about second chances? That they should 
be handed about like candy? I hope not. And I guess that's why
I'm sort of pulling for a Hagrid screw-up down the pipe. 

So far, Dumbledore's track record with the second chances just 
doesn't seem to be working out in the good guy's favor. 
There's  Hagrid, of course. Then we've got Lupin, in denial about his 
werewolfish-ness, causing danger to students as a teenager and as an 
adult.

It remains to be seen what Sirius will make of his second chance. 
Will his animosity towards Snape cause major problems, just as it did 
in their youth? (Not trying to instigate any Prank discussions here, 
I promise!)


Me:

Neither Hagrid nor Lupin screwed up in any way to have them need a 
second chance. Dumbledore didn't give them a second chance, he gave 
them *a* chance. He kept Hagrid as groundkeeper because he knew 
(although he couldn't prove) that Hagrid was unjustly expelled. He 
accepted Lupin as a student in Hogwarts, rather than denying him 
edcuation because of something that was not his fault in the first 
place. In the same way, by taking Lupin as a teacher, you might say 
that Dumbledore is giving him a chance, providing him an opening that 
most of the WW denies him, but it's not a second chance. Lupin didn't 
screw up on anything. 
(Regarding Sirius - my understanding has always been that Dumbledore 
didn't know of Sirius' part of the Prank (until Sirius confessed in 
PoA). I don't want to start a Prank discussion either, but on my 
reading, Sirius is simply irrelevant to this issue.)
I'd also like to point out that, during the VW-I Dumbledore probably 
had many opportunities to assess the trustworthiness of both Hagrid 
and Lupin (and Sirius). Lupin, we know, is part of the "old gang". 
And I cannot imagine Hagrid not being involved in some way in the 
struggle with Voldemort and the DEs. I suggest that if Dumbledore 
trusts Hagrid "with his life", then he knows what he's talking about.

Caroline:

Hagrid doesn't seem to have repented. His fascination for 
"interestin' creatures" still causes danger for
students, just like it did, oh, 50 years ago.


Me:

<rolls eyes in astonishment> What on earth does Hagrid have to 
repent?! His "interestin' creature" didn't hurt anybody, remember? It 
was the basilisk, controlled by Riddle, that killed Myrtle. Aragog 
was safely tucked in his closet, a threat to nobody:

"So you never - never attacked anyone?"
"Never," croaked the old spider. "It would have been my instinct, but 
from respect of Hagrid, I never harmed a human." (CoS, p. 206)

See? Hagrid has nothing to repent. He hasn't failed his second 
chance, because he never needed to be given a second chance. He has 
(presumably) carried out his job well enough to earn a promotion. 

So it seems that Dumbledore was justified in giving him that 
(first!) chance. Lupin is more tricky, but the bottom line is, he 
grew up to be a powerful and competent wizard, and an important 
member of the Light Side. So, in his case also, I think that 
Dumbledore's chance giving policy was justified.
 

Naama, who doesn't worry about Dumbledore at all